Thursday, August 11, 2011

I found this mysterious half-penny on the Panthers' practice fields in Spartanburg this week. What do you think it means?

OK, so this is weird. I have spent most of this week in Spartanburg, watching the Carolina Panthers' training camp. On Wednesday, I was walking off the fields and found this half-penny, half-buried in the grass. Seriously. It was there.

Where did it come from? What does it mean? Who takes the time to cut a penny in half, and how did they do it?

I apologize for the blurry, UFO-like quality of the image, which I set on a white tablecloth so it would show up better.

Anyway, before we get back to our regular programming (I'm writing about the Panthers cornerback situation for Friday if you wanted to know) I want your opinion on what a half-penny on the Panthers' practice field means.

Is it an omen? Lucky? Unlucky? Do you have a funny line about it? For instance, when I showed it to Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette, he cracked: "That's all the money Jerry Richardson has left now after that spending spree."

Best theory -- preferably funny -- wins a signed copy of my 2004 book on the Panthers' Super Bowl run (a little dated, but hey, it's free).

Post your entries in the comments section below (and KEEP THEM CLEAN, PLEASE -- I KEEP HAVING TO DISABLE COMMENTS ON THIS BLOG BECAUSE A VERY SMALL MINORITY OF FOLKS CAN'T KEEP THEIR LANGUAGE OUT OF THE R AND X-RATED MODE).

Also, if you particularly like your comment and think it might win, send me an e-mail copy at sfowler@charlotteobserver.com along with your full name AND YOUR COMMENT (just as a backup).

Deadline is 6 p.m. FRIDAY, AUG.12th Eastern time. The winner only will be contacted over the weekend, and I'll also post the winner on this blog. Thanks and good luck!

Other than your quest for filling up your bank at home, its an omen! The challenge is to find the other half and the holder of the complete and now famous penny will pay the Veteran that will take us back to the Superbowl! The person who chopped the penny did not keep the other half, it was chunked into the green abyss of South Carolina grass that grows because they wanted their money to grow. Thus the term, 'grass roots' and if the Panthers who play on that grass were to grow into another formidable team, then that penny divided will take root and multiply into a money making NFL Super Team. Set out to find the other half, like Hercules on a quest to find the Impossible. Therein lies our fate Scott, you hold half of our destiny. I say that you should go back to where you found it, turn toward the sun and throw it toward the sun, it will land very near the other half, then write the story where you give it to Jerry Richardson and he deposits it into his account that pays our next needed veteran. Hurry we haven't much time left, because time split in half is wasted money!Greg Catman Good, HOF 2004

On finding the half penny, the discussion can continue are the Panthers halfway on their way to a great year, or are they heading to a year like last year. I am hopeful that they are on a comeback and the energy provided by a new staff and some freshtalent , they will succeed and have a really great year and play some "heads up" footbal.

My cousin gave me a copy of the upcoming NFL schedule. I went through it highlighting the Panther games. Then, I had a thought: What if the Panthers went undefeated this season (2011)?

Of course the naysayers will say it can't be done, but what of the remaining fans and especially the players? If they believe they can win the current game they are in, execute to the best of their ability, why would they not win?

So, Scott the half penny means: If the Panthers present their better half, individually and collectively, they will have an undefeated season.

I'm more of a literal-type person, so here's my take: Most reports from camp observers provide enough glimmer of hope to have fans thinking that we should be better than we were last year. That said, most reasonable fans would be happy to settle for an 6 or 7 win season. Well, you know the old saying, "You ain't seen the half of it..."? I think the half-penny means just that. Maybe it's an omen that when it's all said and done, we will have won 8 (or more?!) games and looked good doing it too! Let's get ready for some 2011 Panthers football!

Its an App State thing....mountain folklore. Armanti placed it there when he played for ASU against Wofford having a feeling he would see that field again some day. So he broke the penny in two with a simple click of his fingers and placed one half on the field. He kept the other half of the penny for when he made it to the pros.

Is that really the best picture that a newspaper could get of the "mysterious" penny?

I don't normally like the negative comments but I just can't imagine a journalist in a major market getting away with posting something like this. Can't we keep our standards a little higher than this?

The other half of the penny is in the pocket of some ill-informed national sports journalist that dared to accuse Mr. Richardson of being a penny pincher...to which Mr. Richardson replied, "I'll show you how to pinch a penny, chump." The half that you found flew across the practice field and became lodged in the ground.

Scott, Being in the turfgrass industry I'm willing to bet that a grounds mower got ahold of it and cut it just like that. I've seen many like that in my days working on golf courses and athletic fields.

I think it indicates we are going to acquire fifty percent each of our games. 8-8 season. Though average has become our midst title, this time around it can be indicator that this future will be brilliant.